Penguin to celebrate London Underground's 150th

Penguin is working alongside Transport for London to celebrate 150 years of the London Underground in 2013.

The publisher will release a range of titles tying into the anniversary, with a collection of short paperbacks devoted to the individual lines, a definitive history of the system, a book of poems and philosophical works taking the concept of transit as their starting point.

John Lanchester’s What We Talk About When We Talk About The Tube will offer the author's take on the District Line, while Paul Morley will tackle the Bakerloo line with Earthbound.

There will also be a book dedicated to the iconic design of the Underground, from its maps to its posters.

Each of the line paperbacks will be published by Penguin Books in March 2013 at a price of £5, preceded by Underground: How The Tube Shaped London by Sam Mullins, the director of the London Transport Museum, alongside David Bownes and Oliver Green, to be released by Allen Lane in October (£25).

Mike Brown, managing director for London Underground, said: "We are really excited to be working with Penguin Books for this important anniversary, especially as it was a trip by rail that inspired the creation of Penguin Books and [because] both organisations share a history of using the same graphic designers."

Helen Conford, Penguin Press publishing director, said: “The Underground and its map shape our imaginative understanding of London, as well as transporting visitors and residents from one place to another, and we wanted our publishing to do the same.”